And Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, is the winner of the national award. Canada transformed a truancy program into an expanded school drawing students from a 24-block area of Harlem.

The awards will be given at a Nov. 6 banquet at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Earlier that day, Canada will speak at the annual Freedom Awards forum at Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ.

– Bill Dries

St. Jude Names New Clinical Director

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has named a new clinical director.

The Memphis-based hospital said Wednesday that radiation oncologist Larry Kun has been appointed as clinical director and executive vice president. Kun will guide all aspects of clinical care and oversee clinical operations and patient care quality programs for the 7,800 patients who are treated or receive post-treatment care at St. Jude each year.

Kun joined St. Jude in 1984 to establish a department to treat cancer with radiation therapy and to start a multidisciplinary brain tumor program.

Kun has served as chair of the St. Jude Department of Radiological Sciences and will remain in that position.

– The Associated Press

Terminix Makes Second Canadian Acquisition

Memphis-based Terminix, the world’s largest pest- and termite-control provider, has acquired substantially all the assets of Vancouver-based Care Pest & Wildlife Control.

Care Pest & Wildlife was founded in 2000 and is the largest independent pest- and wildlife-control company in British Columbia. It specializes in general pest, bedbug, bird and wildlife control for residential and commercial accounts, and the company will keep its current brand name after the acquisition is completed.

Terminix president Larry Pruitt said the acquisition of Care Pest & Wildlife control combined with Terminix’s purchase last month of Toronto-based Magical Pest Control, is a continuation of Terminix’s efforts to expand its geographic presence outside the U.S.

– Andy Meek

Tony Allen to Challenge Pera in Charity Game

Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, famous for his hard-nosed game and for coining the “grit and grind” phrase that has become a mantra for the team and city, will be playing Grizzlies owner Robert Pera in a one-on-one exhibition game to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The “Grindfather” will play Pera Saturday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. at FedExForum. Allen and Pera agreed to donate $100,000 to St. Jude.

Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph will be the special guest referee for the game, which will be streamed live at grizzlies.com and broadcast on ESPN Radio 92.9 FM.

– Amos Maki

Average Mortgage Rate Down to 4.32 Percent

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week to their lowest point in two months. The decline follows the Federal Reserve's decision last week to hold off slowing its monthly bond purchases.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 4.32 percent from 4.50 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed loan declined to 3.37 percent from 3.54 percent.

Both are the lowest averages since July 25.

Mortgage rates are nearly a full percentage point higher than in May, when the Fed first signaled it might slow its $85 billion-a-month in bond buys. But last week the Fed kept the pace steady after lowering its outlook for economic growth.

The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates, including mortgage rates.

– The Associated Press

Unemployment Aid Applications Near 6-Year Low

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 5,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 305,000, the second-lowest level in six years. Steady declines in applications show that very few companies are laying off workers.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average declined 7,000 to 308,000, the lowest since June 2007.

All states reported their first-time applications on time, a department spokesman said. Applications plummeted three weeks ago because computer upgrades in California and Nevada prevented them from fully reporting their data. Those states have cleared their backlogs, the spokesman said.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Fewer layoffs suggest employers are confident enough to maintain their staffing levels. But companies have been reluctant to take the next step and ramp up hiring.

In fact, job gains have slowed in recent months. Employers have added an average of just 155,000 jobs a month since April. That's down from an average of 205,000 for the first four months of the year.

The unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent in August, from 7.4 percent in the previous month. But the drop mostly occurred because more Americans stopped working or looking for jobs. The government doesn't count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching for work.

– The Associated Press

Ramsey Predicts Approval of Supermarket Wine Bill

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey predicted Wednesday that lawmakers will approve a bill next session to allow wine to be sold in supermarkets and convenience stores.

The Blountville Republican told reporters that lawmakers previously uncertain about the proposal were surprised by the backlash to the failure of this year's bill in a House committee.

This year's bill died when House Local Government Chairman Matthew Hill, who had supported an earlier version, cast the deciding vote against the measure.

"The debacle that happened in the House with the change of the vote at the last minute I think actually helped," Ramsey said. "There were several senators that may have been sitting on the fence and saw the reaction that came from that and they realized that now they're going to be for it in some form."

Hill, a Jonesborough Republican who has since drawn a primary opponent, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Current law keeps supermarkets and convenience stores from selling beer stronger than 5 percent by weight, which is the equivalent of about 6.5 percent in the more common measure of alcohol by volume. Anything stronger can only be sold in liquor stores, which aren't allowed to sell any items beyond booze and lottery tickets.

Statewide public opinion polls have shown strong support for supermarket wine sales, but opponents have raised fears about wider availability of stronger alcohol and the effect the change would have on existing liquor stores.